TRANSIT SERVICES ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Meeting Summary
Thursday March 8, 2007
PRESENT: Paul Edmunds, DAVIDSON
Jenifer Falls, Huntersville
Linda Newton, Charlotte
Walter Horstman, Matthews
Barry Dodd, Charlotte
Sherry Helms-Miller, Charlotte
Marshall Grier, Charlotte
Randy Wheeless, Charlotte
Don Carnahan, Cornelius
Rick Sanderson, Charlotte/Pineville
STAFF: Jim Zingale, Vida Covington, Ramon Robinson, Patrick Hoskins, Elizabeth Presutti, Larry Kopf, Jean Leier, Brooks Newkirk, Pamela Seward, Thomas Stringer, Theron Barrino, Donald Ivey
MEETING TIME: 4:00-5:30 PM
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I. Call to Order and Approval of January and February Meeting Summaries
Chairman Paul Edmunds called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m. The January 11, 2007 and February 8, 2007 TSAC meeting summaries were approved as written.
II. Public Comment
Franklin Green stated that the Route 5 bus stop at the airport was very hard to find. Mr. Zingale stated that he already filed a complaint with the airport and that issue is being evaluated.
Ms. Helms-Miller asked what was wrong with the previous location. Mr. Zingale said because of construction on the top level of the airport driveway, the bus stop had to be moved and is now located on the lower level near the shuttle stop area.
Mr. Green also stated that due to the expansion of Routes 11 and 22, the buses are now very crowded. Mr. Kopf said he would look into the crowded bus situation.
Mr. Green also wanted some clarification on the Garden City route change. Mr. Kopf said the route was changed because buses could not make turns onto Peachtree Street safely.
Mr. Green asked if the buses on the Garden City route were shuttles. Mr. Kopf said yes. Mr. Robinson added that alternatives for the Peachtree Street turn are still being considered.
Mr. Horstman asked how things went with the buses during the CIAA tournament. Mr. Kopf said it went very well, except for some congestion on Friday night due to a crane being parked in the street.
III. Action Item
There were no action items.
IV. Information Items
A. CATS Mission and Vision Statement Jim Zingale
Mr. Zingale gave an overview of CATS Mission and Vision Statement, which provide continued direction and guidance to management for use in carrying out the organization’s responsibilities. He said CATS’ mission is to provide access through the five transit corridors to make sure they grow in a sustainable manner. Mr. Zingale stated the reason TSAC was reviewing the Mission & Vision Statement was to gather input from the committee to, improve the system, gather feedback from the public, and to ensure that the system continues to grow and is seen as a benefit to this community.
B. FY07 Business Scorecard Status Report Jim Zingale
Mr. Zingale said the Balance Scorecard is an evaluation system that measures how well each City department is performing in meeting their individual Key Business Unit (KBU) goals and the City’s visions and goals. By having this system in place, Mr. Zingale said, the City and each KBU can ensure that they’re providing quality service to the community. He said the scorecard is evaluated and updated on a yearly basis.
Ms. Helms-Miller asked how staff measures its goal of on-time performance.
Mr. Kopf explained that on-time performance is measured by the AVL system, which gives the times buses reach and leave their destination points. He said that information for the entire system is then compiled and evaluated to determine the on-time performance score.
Mr. Zingale added that a first-class transit system should be in the 90 percent range of meeting its on-time performance goal. He also noted that the on-time performance score is an indicator of dependability, which is an important aspect of any transit system.
Ms. Helms-Miller asked how customers can tell where their bus is in the route.
Mr. Kopf stated that a passenger information system of real-time bus location information is in the works. He said until that system is up and running, customers can get information on where their bus is located through supervisors at the transit center.
Ms. Helms-Miller pointed out that if a passenger goes looking for a supervisor to get that information they might miss their bus. She said that’s happened to her before. Mr. Kopf said staff will try to fine tune the situation, while waiting for the new system to be installed.
Mr. Horstman asked if customers could get bus location information by calling 366-RIDE. Mr. Kopf said no, because call center staff do not have that information. However, he noted that call center staff can occasionally contact someone in operations to get that information.
Mr. Horstman noted that it would be convenient for customers to use their cell phone to call and get bus location information. Vida Covington stated that in the future 366-RIDE will have that information. She said the new system is not in place presently due to negotiations with the vendor supplying the system lasting longer than anticipated, as well as waiting for budget approval by City Council.
Ms. Covington also stated that CATS’ Technology section will have the system up and running this year and the information will be displayed on bay monitors.
Ms. Helms-Miller said she would like to have a phone number to call for bus information while waiting for the new system to be installed. Mr. Zingale said staff will look into that.
Mr. Grier asked when will the other centers, such as the Rosa Parks Community Transit Center, have the signage up and running. Mr. Kopf said the first phase of this system only pertains to the Charlotte Transportation Center (CTC) and the signage will progress from there.
Mr. Zingale noted that the CTC will have the new system installed in the fall of 07.
Ms. Helms-Miller asked if that date was in conjunction with the light rail startup. Mr. Zingale answered yes.
Mr. Zingale continued with the Balance Scorecard information. He stated that the three areas CATS is focusing on this year are the dependability of the system, safety and security, and customer service.
Mr. Horstman asked if the system complaints come through 366-RIDE. Mr. Zingale said wherever complaints come through, whether its 336-RIDE, the web or public meetings, staff receives the data.
Mr. Carnahan asked if the light rail miles were included in the accident rate. Mr. Zingale said yes, but staff separates them out for NTD (National Transit Database) purposes because those miles need to be tracked separately since hopefully there won’t be any rail accidents.
Mr. Horstman asked if Mitchell Johnson was involved with the GPS presentation given in January. Mr. Zingale answered no; it was Patrick Hoskins.
Mr. Edmunds asked if every city department inputs their goals into a Balance Scorecard.
Mr. Zingale answered yes. Each KBU has a similar scorecard for its department, which also ties into the overall corporate goals of the City.
Mr. Edmunds stated the completion date given for the Vehicle Maintenance Facility was not met. Mr. Zingale said there were various reasons why the facility did not meet its completion date.
Mr. Zingale said the CATS leadership team reviews the Balance Scorecard on a monthly basis to monitor progress.
Mr. Edmunds asked if the lag status on the cost per service hour on the Balance Scorecard has to do with the date of acquisition. Mr. Zingale stated lag status has to do with when the goal actually has to be achieved.
Mr. Carnahan asked if it would be appropriate to have information pamphlets to keep the customers inform with information from the Balance Scorecard. Mr. Zingale said staff will look into providing that.
C. Travel Markets Larry Kopf
Mr. Kopf said when CATS receives requests for service changes the Travel Markets document is its guiding tool. He said CATS uses the document to determine what the demand is and what travel market the request falls into. He said Travel Markets are broken into two groups: primary travel markets, which consists of travel within the five transit corridors, and secondary travel markets, which is travel outside of the five transit corridors.
Mr. Kopf explained that since the Travel Markets document has not been updated since 2001, there may be room for consideration of new possible travel markets. He noted that in January 2008 the Travel Markets will be revisited and voted on by the MTC.
Ms. Helms-Miller stated that intercity development pushed the boundaries of the corridor out and now the suburbs are further out.
Mr. Edmunds asked where the bus-rail integration falls in the travel markets. Mr. Kopf stated that bus-rail integration would fall in the numbers 1, 2, and 3 travel market areas.
D. Committee Communication All
Mr. Edmunds asked the committee if they wanted to respond to the petition to repeal the half-cent sales tax.
Mr. Dodd noted that there was an article in the newspaper that said 12,000 people had signed the petition.
Mr. Edmunds asked if anyone on the committee had been approached with the sales tax petition.
Mr. Carnahan said he was approached at the CTC, but the petition was not stating anything about transportation, only information to roll back the half-cent sales tax.
Mr. Sanderson said it would be beneficial for TSAC and CTAG committees to get involved and come against these types of attacks.
Mr. Carnahan asked if there are numbers out that tell exactly where the sales tax revenue comes from throughout the county, such as what percentage comes from what zip code.
Ms. Helms-Miller said she thought the percentage by zip code would be good as the homes are spread out in those areas, unlike the condensed population of the intercity.
Mr. Horstman pointed out that choosing to live in the suburbs means you have to drive to get anywhere in the city. He said Charlotte is fortunate that transit is available to the suburbs. He noted that taxes as a whole serve the whole city.
Ms. Helms-Miller stated the transit system benefits the whole city, whether a person rides or not.
Mr. Sanderson said the half-cent sales tax recall is trying to relate the tax just to the South Corridor light rail line, when in fact the tax is used for all the transportation needs within the city such as the buses, City staff, and the development of the other corridors.
Ms. Helms-Miller stated that Martin Wheeler’s letter had a good point, that if we look out 20 years we can see that we need to do something about our air quality now to help prevent health issues in the future.
Mr. Edmunds said if the transit system evaporated, the air quality would take a nose dive and that in it self would cost us federal funds.
Mr. Carnahan asked Mr. Zingale if there is information on how other transit systems fund their services.
Mr. Zingale said there is a study that shows most state transit systems are funded by a sales tax. He said in order for a city to acquire federal funds, the federal government has to see that the city has a consistent stable source of funding for their transit system.
Ms. Helms-Miller explained if the sales tax issue is on the ballot this year, it may cause more problems for transit. Jean Leier noted that this is a City Council election year.
Mr. Zingale said the South Corridor Light Rail project is on schedule and it’s possible that a portion may open by the time elections start.
Ms. Falls asked if people are trying to remove their name from the petition. Mr. Sanderson said yes. He said in order to do that, they have to write a letter to the Board of Election to have their name removed.
The committee voted that there should be a formal response from TSAC on the half-cent sales tax repeal issue.
Mr. Edmunds then stated that he would draft a positive informative response letter to the editor of the Charlotte Observer and send to each committee member for input.
IV. Service Issues All
Ms. Helms-Miller stated the College Street detour has no Route 2 stops on the bus sign and she is having a problem getting dropped-off across the street from the Convention Center. Mr. Kopf said she should be able to get off there while the detour is in affect.
Ms. Falls said a new driver for the Thursday and Friday night 48 Express to Huntersville has been driving very slowly in the HOV lane on I-77. She also stated some of the drivers on the outbound 48X are not getting into the HOV lane. Mr. Zingale stated it will be checked into.
Ms. Falls asked if carpooling is permitted at park and rides. Mr. Kopf said there’s a carpool/vanpool program that permits parking at park and rides.
Ms. Falls also said there are still some large vehicles parking in compact car spaces.
Mr. Carnahan stated there was a huge pothole at the Huntersville Park and Ride that need repaired.
V. Chairman’s Report Paul Edmunds
Mr. Edmonds said he wanted the committee to know that a fare increase is proposed for July. He said the public hearing on the increase at the MTC’s last meeting recognized that there is a need to have an increase, but the Commission was aware that an increase would have an affect on many riders, especially STS riders.
Mr. Zingale noted that STS is a very expensive service to run.
VI. Chief Operating Officer’s Report Jim Zingale
Mr. Zingale reported that the McDonald Transit negotiations have not been settled, but staff is hoping to settle the issue at their April meeting. He also noted that the operating budget was presented to the MTC last month and the capital budget will be presented this month.
Ms. Leier said the last of the light rail vehicles will arrive next week and there will be an event focused around the arrival. Committee members were invited to attend.
She noted that CATS will be hosting 30 transit workers from Dublin, Ireland. She said the workers will tour CATS and will be the Grand Marshals of the St. Patrick’s Day parade. She also noted that CATS will have a booth with light rail and transit information at the Neighborhood Symposium hosted by Neighborhood Development March 30th 8am until 5pm.
NEXT TSAC MEETING: THURSDAY, APRIL 12, 2007 4:00 PM
